Atlanta BeltLine Design and Construction Updates: April 2024

Below you will find recent updates and photos of each of our Atlanta BeltLine projects in design or construction along with links to get more general information about each project. Additionally, you can explore current design and construction projects via map and list view here. These projects play a pivotal role in furthering the Atlanta BeltLine vision to be the catalyst for making Atlanta a global beacon for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable city life.  

Northeast Trail 

• Northeast Trail – Segment 1: Construction is underway on this segment that runs alongside Piedmont Park and will be completed in three phases: Phase I from Westminster Drive to Evelyn Street, Phase II from Evelyn Street to Monroe Drive, and Phase III including the 10th Street and Monroe Drive intersection improvements.
  • In Phase I, the trail is open for use from Westminster Drive NE, running adjacent to Clear Creek to Evelyn Street.  Temporary barriers will be in place along the trail edge until permanent handrails along the trail edge can be delivered and installed, which is expected in June. The construction team will start refurbishing the wooden Clear Creek bridge along the gravel trail next.
  • Along Phase II, construction grading and wall work is ongoing within the corridor with granite cladding underway.
  • Phase III work, which includes pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of 10th and Monroe Drive, will be the last phase of work to start. Planning and logistics are in progress for this complex phase of work. The team is fine tuning the plans to minimize traffic impacts. The ABI project management team has met with several neighborhood groups and APS to coordinate on timing and phasing of work, which is expected to start in June, after school activities are minimized. 
  • The BeltLine continues to work alongside Piedmont Park Conservancy, City of Atlanta Parks Department, and Atlanta Department of Transportation on this project. The project is expected to be complete in fall of 2024.

    

     

    

     

    

     

    

     

    

     

• Northeast Trail – Segment 2: This trail is open to the public.  Landscaping work continues along with other minor follow on projects. Selig Enterprises, owner of Ansley Mall, is in progress on a bridge connecting the rear of their retail stores to the trail. Selig will set the opening date for the connecting bridge, which will likely be in the summer.

  

   

  

   

  

   

• Northeast Trail – Segment 3: This federally funded portion of trail includes the mainline trail of the Atlanta BeltLine 22-mile loop, called Northeast Trail – Segment 3, and also includes connector trails to MARTA Lindberg station, PATH 400, and to the Armour-Ottley business district. The design team is finalizing the 90% drawings for submission to GDOT as the FFPR (Final Field Plan Review). Real estate acquisition and construction easements are underway and will be followed by GDOT approvals for right of way, environmental, and utility work. A total of 16 real estate parcels will require agreements with property owners.  Construction letting / bidding is targeted for May 2025. The current expected construction start is August of 2025, with up to a three-year schedule to complete the mainline trail and the connector trails.
• Details on each Northeast Trail segment can be found in our design and construction updates section: Segment 1, Segment 2, and Segment 3.

Eastside Trail 

• Ponce de Leon Avenue Streetscapes: The Ponce streetscape project will provide an improved pedestrian and bicycle connection along Ponce de Leon Avenue to the BeltLine running from Boulevard to Freedom Parkway.  JHC has completed construction of the last sections of sidewalk between Ponce City Market and Ford Factory Lofts, as well as the median between Midtown Place and the Ponce Beltline bridge. Bike lane improvements and striping will begin in May. The contractor will begin construction on the Beltline access ramp as soon as GDOT approves the wall and materials submittals, currently under review.  This project is anticipated to complete in June of 2024, but the access ramp will be completed at a later date due to timing of engineering review work. Updates are posted at www.beltline.org/ponce.

Southside Trail 

• Southside Trail – Segments 2 – 3: This trail segment is 1.9 miles and runs from McDaniel to Boulevard. A contractor has been executed with Reeves Young, and a Notice to Proceed was issued by ABI on April 29, 2024.  The contractor is scheduled to mobilize in mid-May.  A community meeting will be held on May 30th from 6:30pm – 8:00pm to introduce the contractor.  ABI anticipates to have the trail construction wrapped by early 2026, to be followed by landscaping.  Link to join community meeting.
• Southside Trail – Segments 4 – 5:  This trail segment runs from Boulevard to Glenwood and is 1.2 miles long. Storm line installation is ongoing.  The contractor has completed the bridge abutments at United Avenue and set the beams. The superstructure of the bridge will begin in May and is expected to take several weeks to complete. Pile driving for bridge abutments at Ormewood Avenue will begin mid-May. Reeves Young will also be continuing construction on the walls which will support the ramp up to Delmar throughout May.  The trail will remain closed for the duration of construction which is expected to last through spring 2025. Detour options can be found here.

• 

   

  

   

  

   

  

• Southside Trail – Segment 6, Phase II:  This project will replace the interim condition and includes a new pedestrian bridge over I-20, running parallel to the existing vehicular bridge at Bill Kennedy Way.  The trail section running through Glenwood Park will also be improved to meet BeltLine trail standards.  The design of this project kicked off with the community during an ABI Study Group meeting on March 25th.  The engineering team is currently developing typical cross sections and options for the street and trail composition and alignment.  A Study Group meeting will be scheduled this summer, when the concepts are ready to present.  The project will be completed in two phases: Phase 1 will include work in the ATDOT right of way which is expected to start in summer of 2025, followed by work in the GDOT right of way in summer of 2026.
• Details on each Southside Trail segment can be found in our design and construction updates section: Segments 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Westside Trail 

• Westside Trail – Segment 4: This 1.3-mile segment begins at the current Westside Trail terminus near Lena Street and Washington Park and extends north to Law Street where the trail ties into the Westside BeltLine Connector and the completed Westside Trail – Segment 3. The contractor continues to construct retaining walls and has started installing granite cladding on walls along the corridor. Steel has now been placed on four of the elevated trail sections (or bridges), with the steel for the remaining two sections expected to be set by May. Final grading is taking place between Washington Park and Washington Manor, with the first on grade pour scheduled for May.  Other work in progress includes duct bank installation, and final grading for future on-grade concrete trail work. This project is expected to be complete in summer of 2025.

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

  

   

• Ralph David Abernathy Access Point (at Westview): This project will provide a new access point to the Westside Trail, with a protected crossing across Ralph David Abernathy and a ramp and stair connection to the BeltLine. A landscaped plaza is also part of the design.  The contractor has planted trees at new island areas on South Gordon. Crews will be mobilized to begin granite facing work on retaining walls in the first week of May. Footings have been poured for ramp walls, and rebar for the ramp retaining walls is in progress. The walls will be poured as soon embeds for safety railing are confirmed for delivery.  Project end date is tracking for late July.

  

   

  

   

  

   

• Ralph David Abernathy Complete Streets: This is a streetscape improvement project in the heart of the West View business district. The project is approximately 0.5 miles in length and includes parking and protected bicycle lanes. The contractor has pulled ahead of their projected schedule by three weeks and started the final section of sidewalk demolition, new curb/sidewalk at the church on the west side of RDA. All other sidewalks/new curb sections have been completed. Next activities include gearing up to start milling and paving operation as well as a protected bike lane median and landscaping along RDA (north & southbound). This next phase of work will begin immediately following completion of KIPP Academy graduation activities May 28th.

  

   

  

   

  

Enota Park

• Enota Park is an eight-acre park that will be built on the west side of Atlanta. A contract is executed for a Construction Manager for Enota Park, and the award went to Reeves Young. Now that the construction team is on board, the project budget will be confirmed, and any required adjustments to the design will be completed, in order to maintain the budget before construction is released to begin. ABI is working with the City of Atlanta to address the consolidation of real estate parcels within the park, and finalizing construction permitting.  The construction schedule is currently dependent upon permitting and real estate consolidation.  A construction start date will be confirmed when these tasks are close to completion, but ABI is targeting fall of 2024.
  

Northwest Trail 

• Northwest Trail – Segment 1: This section of trail is 0.8 miles in length, beginning at the western edge of Peachtree Parks Apartments and running south along Peachtree Creek. We have executed a contract with Reeves Young to be our Construction Manager at Risk for Segment 1. We have completed 100% drawings for this segment and a cost model has been completed for the project. We have begun to procure various parts of the project such as the bridge over Peachtree Creek as well as the materials for the retaining walls along the corridor and all elevated sections. The acquisition of easements is ongoing and once complete we will be in a position to begin enabling work at the Peachtree Park Apartment complex at the end of Q2.  This enabling work will allow us to begin work in earnest unencumbered.
• Northwest Trail – Segment 2: This segment begins at the southwest corner of Bobby Jones Golf Course and travels east along Colonial Hills Circle for 0.7 miles. Design drawings are 60% complete as of the end of March.  This releases the start of real estate work required to secure the corridor for the trail.
• Northwest Trail – Segment 3: This section of trail begins at Trabert Avenue near Monday Night Brewing’s parking lot and ends after crossing under I-75 at Tanyard Creek, for a total length of 1.2 miles. Design will be 60% complete by May 2024. A contract has been awarded to Astra Group for Construction Manager at Risk Services.  The construction manager will provide early assistance with construction logistics, scheduling, and budgeting while the drawings are being completed.  A section of the trail that is approximately 0.5 miles long, and runs between between Trabert and Northside is now under construction.
• Northwest Trail – Segment 4: This 0.9-mile-long trail begins at English and Culpepper and ends at the parking lot of Monday Night Brewery at Trabert. The 60% drawings are complete which releases the start of real estate work required to secure the corridor for the trail.  Coordination with the Department of Watershed Management and other property owners has been very productive and the alignment for this segment has been confirmed.  Segment 4 will be split into two construction projects: Section 1 and Section 2. Section 1 from English Street to Howell Mill will be soliciting for a construction manager during the month of May.
• Northwest Trail – Segment 5: This trail section begins at the intersection of Marietta Blvd and Huff Rd, traveling to Ellsworth Industrial and English Street for a total of 0.7 miles. A construction contract is in progress and is expected to be issued to the contractor with a Notice to Proceed in early May, with construction mobilization to follow.  The construction schedule is anticipated to be 14 months.

BeltLine Transit Study 

• This planning project, primarily focused on determining a preferred transit alignment in the NW BeltLine quadrant where there is no abandoned railroad corridor. It also intends to identify stop locations and generalized cross-sections in the SW and SE quadrants of the BeltLine corridor.  The overall study area is looking at 13-14 miles of future light-rail/streetcar transit corridor, tying into the NE BeltLine quadrant planning work previously performed by MARTA in 2021.  The effort is guided by principles of equity and the goal of developing a world-class network of high-capacity transit in a green guideway wherever possible.
• Since the October 2^nd kick-off meeting, we have been coordinating outreach with the community via multiple forums, including the State of the BeltLine, an Equity Stakeholder Committee, three small-group roundtables, multiple Pop-Up engagements on weekends, etc. The project runs through June 2025 with numerous engagement points along the way.
• The project will be supportive of the concept of infill stations, as has recently been brought to the conversation by Mayor Dickens, but the study does not yet have any work started on this front yet.

You can view March’s Design and Construction update here.  Our first Quarterly Briefing of 2024 was held virtually on February 8th. You can watch the meeting on the Atlanta BeltLine’s YouTube channel.